Helically wound brush



United States Patent O 3,290,714 HELICALLY WOUND BRUSH William F. Enchelmaier, 16 Oak Place, North Caldwell, NJ., and Harvard W. K. Enchelmaier, 24 Kingwood Drive, Great Notch, NJ.

- Filed Mar. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 443,835

12 Claims. (Cl. 15-182) This invention relates to .a helically wound brush, and more particularly to a brush of the type described wherein tufts of bristles are helically arranged on a brush core in notches in a bristle-retaining strip wound upon the core.

A brush of the type with which the present invention is concerned is shown, for example, in Enchelmaier et al. Patent No. 2,797,966. In the construction shown in such patent, two bristle-retaining Wires or strips are employed, :a first strip being disposed with its breadth -generally radial of the brush core, and a second strip being helically wound upon the brush core and overlying and supported upon the youter edge of the first strip. Both such strips are customarily made of metal such as copper or brass. The second strip has the edge thereof facing the end of the brush which is rst wound provided with a plurality of spaced notches open to such end of the brush. The notches receive and retain the roots of tufts of bristles which are fed toward the brush as the brush core is rotated and the two bristle-retaining strips are wound thereon. Preferably during such winding of the brush the space about the brush core defined by the two bristle-retaining strips and including the roots of the bristle tufts are impregnated with a curable adhesive such as a resin. After the winding vof the brush has been completed, the trailing ends of the two strips are -mechanically secured to the brush core, and the adhesive is then cured.

The described brush is widely used in the trade, performs satisfactorily, and is relatively economical and durable. Such brush, however, has limitations which the trade has long sought to overcome. Thus the diameter or fullness of the tufts of the brush is limited, since the second bristle-retaining strip can not be notched beyond a certain depth, since to do so would weaken such strip undesirably. Such inherent limitation of the fullness of the tufts requires the tufts to be spaced appreciably from each other in the rows thereof disposed generally longitudinally of the brush core. Accordingly, the bristle tufts act upon the material being brushed in a somewhat discontinuous manner, which is undesirable in the treatment of some materials. Further, because the bristle-retaining strips are made of metal, their bonding with the adhesive employed to retain the bristle tufts on the core is purely mechanical. If, by reason of accidental dropping of the brush or hitting it with a sharp object, the second bristleretaining strip is broken, Isuch strip is quite prone to becoming completely unwound during the use of the brush.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a novel helically wound brush employing a notched bristle-retaining strip, such brush overcoming the aboveoutlined difficulties with prior art brushes of the same type. Thus in the brush of the present invention the notches in the bristle-retaining strip may have a length or depth .generally longitudinally of the brush core which is as much as 90% `of the width of the strip without unduly weakening the strip. This permits brushes so made to present bristle tufts which extend in yalmost continuous rows generally longitudinally of the brush core.

The novel bristle-retaining strip employed in the brush of the present invention is generally of L-shape, and includes both a notched external portion lying parallel to the surface of the brush core and a portion lying generally radially of the brush core. Thus even if the external portion of the strip were damaged, the strip remains integrally held together by such radially extending portion, which Patented Dec. 13, 1966 is inherently protected from such type of injury by reason of its location in the brush and its edgewise disposition on the brush core. Finally, brushes made in accordance with the present invention, particularly in the first disclosed embodiment thereof, may employ an adhesive which is compatible and integrally bonds with the bristle-retaining strip and/or the roots of the bristles, so that upon curing the adhesive the roots of the bristles are in effect embedded in a substantially continuous annular plastic sheath Ion the brush core.

The invention has among its objects the provision of a helically wound cored brush employing :a novel notched bristle-retaining strip wound upon the core of the brush.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a brush of the Ytype indicated wherein a novel single notched bristle-retaining strip is employed.

A still further object of the invention is the provision, in a brush `of the type indicated, of a single helically wound bristle-retaining strip of generally L-shaped section, the strip being disposed with one leg thereof supported on the brush core and extending in a helix disposed radially of the brush core, land a second, notched bristle-receiving portion overlying and spaced from the brush core by the first portion of the strip.

A further object of the invention, in one preferred embodiment thereof, ylies lin the provision of a brush of the type indicated wherein the bristle-retaining strip is made of plastic material and in preferred embodiments of the brush forms, with an adhesive applied to the brush core, a continuous plastic bristle-retaining sheath on the core.

Still another object of the invention lies in the provision of Ia helically wound brush employing a novel notched bristle-retaining strip made of plastic material containing one or more reinforcing strands therein.

The above and further objects and novel `features of the invention will more fully appear from the following description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only, and are not intended as a definition `of the limits of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views,

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary somewhat schematic View in elevation of a brush in accordance with the present invention during the manufacture of such brush, the apparatus employed in such manufacture being fragmentarily shown;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary View in perspective of a first embodiment of bristle-retaining strip or strand employed with the brush of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in section of the brush shown being wound in FIG. 1, the section being taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; land FIG. 4 is a view in perspective similar to FIG. 2 of a second embodiment of bristle-retaining strip or strand which may be employed With the brush of the present invention.

The brush of the present invention, which in FIG. 1 is generally designated by the reference character 10, is schematically shown as being formed by apparatus which may be generally similar to that shown in FIG. 6 of Enchelrnaier et lal. Patent No. 2,797,966. The core 11 of the brush is shown in FIG. 1 as being rotated in the direction of the arrow. Such rotation of the brush core may fbe affected, for example, by a lathe-like apparatus such as that `shown and described in the above Enchelmaier et al. patent. A collar 12 is affixed to the lefthand, starting end of the brush core 11 as by a retaining set screw 13. The starting end of the bristle-retaining strip or strand 19, to be described, is affixed to the collar 12 as rby .a set screw 14. The brush core 11 extends through a bushing generally designated 15 which is mounted upon a movable carria-ge l(not shown) which is continuously biased toward the left. Bushing 15 has a strand-winding and positioning portion 16 at its rear, body portion. 16 having a part-helical surface 17 which faces the starting end of the brush. As the brush core is rotated in the direction shown and the bristle-retaining strip 19 is progressively wound upon the brush core, the bushing 15 and the carriage supporting it are progressively moved to the right by the turns of the strip wound upon the brush core. In its travel toward the brush core, the bristle-retaining strip 19, which is edge-notched as will appear, progressively picks up tufts 20 of bristles which it carries with it as it travels to and upon the rotating brush core. The bristles may be fed into engagement with the notched strip 19 by means (not shown) similar to those shown in the above Enchelmaier et al. patent.

The bristle-retaining strip 19, which is shown employed in the brush of FIGS. 1 and 3, is shown in detail in FIG. 2. As there shown, strip 19, which is made of a plastic material such as nylon or the like, has a first flange or leg portion 21 which as wound'upon the brush core extends in a helix with the leg 21 disposed generally radially with respect to the brush core. Disposed at right angles to leg 21 of strip 19 is Ka further flange or leg -portion 22 which is provided with `a plurality of bristle tuft-receiving notches 24 disposed longitudinally of strip 19. Notches 24 may be formed in advance of supplying the strip to the brush-making machine, or they may be formed in the portion 22 of the strip immediately in advance of the application of the strip to the brush core, generally in the manner shown and -described in Enchelmaier et al. Patent No. 2,797,966. It has been found that, in accordance with the invention, notches 24 may have depths which are as much as 90% of the width of portion 22 of strip 19.

As shown in FIG. 2, the notches 24 extend deeply into the portion 22 of the strip, close to the junction 23 between the radial portion 21 and the portion 22 thereof. The remaining unnotched parts of portion 22 of strip 19, which extend as parallel fingers from close to the junction 23, are designated 25. The plastic material employed is such as to have appreciable stiffness so that fingers 25 are self-sustaining and function to receive bristle tufts and to feed them onto the brush core as described. Preferably the strip 19 is reinforced by a strand 26'which may be made of metal, glass fiber, or the like, strand 26 being imbedded in the plastic material of strip 19 at the zone of the junction 23 between portions 21 and 22 thereof.

As the brush is wound in the manner shown in FIG. 1, the strip 19, having bristle tufts 20 entrained in the notches 24 thereof, is -fed toward the brush core 11, as shown, being guided as by passing between a fixed guide member 27 engaging the outer ends 34 of lingers 25, so as to lie tangent to the surface 17 of portion 16 of bushing 15, and a confronting fixed guide member 28 engaging the smooth rear surface of leg 21. Guide member 28 may `be resiliently urged toward member 27 4by means `not shown to subjects the strip 19 to appreciable tension as it is wound upon the brush core. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower or inner surface 32 of leg portion 21 contacts the outer surface 31 of the brush c-ore 11 and is in firm contact therewith. The outer end surfaces 34 of fingers 25 of succeeding turns of the strip firmly engage the surface 35 at the outer forward edge of the previously wound turn of the strip. As a result, the roots 36 of the bristle tufts 20l are firmly engaged within a sidewardly braced box-like structure having sidewalls 21 and fingers 25 on the forward and rear sides of the bristle tufts. The ,plastic material of which strip 19` is made has suflicient resilience to yield compressively and thus be slightly thickened in section in the radially inner portions of the leg 21 thereof as the strip 19 is wound on the brush core under appreciable tension. Thus the leg 21 of the strip 19 lies in a substantially smooth helix after being laid upon the brush core as described.

The bushing of the schematically shown apparatus of the .bristle tufts are impregnated with, and the spaces presented between successive turns of the strip 19 on the brush core, are substantially illed with curable adhesive which is shown at 37 in FIG. 3. Thus the bushing 15 is shown provided with a passage 30 therein, the open forward or left-hand end of the passage being located substantially at the entering end of the helical surface 17 of the bushing. Passage 30` is provided with adhesive under pressure supplied thereto through pipe 29 which may be connected to an adhesive pump similar to that shown at 196 in Enchelrnaier et al. Patent No. 2,797,966.

The adhesive may be any one of a wide variety, as, for example, a suitable resin which is heat curable and when cured forms a strong bond with the bristles and the bristle-retaining strip. Thus there may be employed as an adhesive a resin which contains as a solvent or vehicle one which at least slightly dissolves the surfaces of the strip 19 and the surfaces of the bristle roots without, however, unduly weakening the same. With such construction, upon the curing of the adhesive 37 the adhesive, strip 19, and the bristile roots in effect become a unitary integral body, such body extending ask a sheath about the brush core. Thus the strip 19 can not be unwound from the brush, despite possible localized injury to the strip.

In FIG. 4 there is shown a bristle-retaining strip 39 which is made of metal. Suitable metals for this purpose are copper, brass, or the like. Strip 39 is generally of the same conguration as strip 19; consequently, parts of strip 39 which are similar to those of strip 19 are designated by the same reference characters with an added prime. Brushes embodying a metal bristle-retaining strip such as that shown at 39 have the same advantages, above described, as those incorporating the plastic strip 19 with the exception of the ychemical bonding of the strip to the adhesive and the bristle roots. Thus the bristle-receiving notches 24 therein may, if desired, extend substantially throughout the full width of the portion 2.2 of the strip. As with the first described embodiment of brush, bristle tufts in brushes incorporating the bristle-retaining strip 39 accordingly have a large dimension generally longitudinally of the brush core and the longitudinal rows of bristle tufts are substantially continuous. Also, should the brush sustain a mechanical blow of a severity suflicient to break the portion 22' of the strip, the strip remains in one piece by reason of the radially upstanding portion 21 thereof.

Since the bristle-retaining strip 39 is preferably made of a relatively soft metal, and the section of leg portion 21' is relatively thin, the leg portion 21 deforms sufciently to permit the strip to be wound on the brush core with the sections of the leg portion 21' lying generally radial of the core. It may be desired in some cases, however, to corrugate the leg portion 21', particularly the lower free edge portion thereof, vertically in somewhat the same manner as strip 19 in Enchelmaier et al.

Patent No. 2,797,966 to permit the leg portion 21 of strip 39 to bend locally to accommodate its shape to that of the brush core as it is being Wound thereon.

The advantages of both disclosed embodiments of the brush of the invention have been set forth above. In addition to such advantages, the embodiment of FIGS. l, 2, and 3, wherein the bristle-retaining strip is made of a plastic material, possesses the advantage that it is immune or substantially immune to attack by acids and other reagents with which the brush may come into contact during use. Further, since the entire structure of the brush in the active portion thereof is non-metallic, there is no `tendency of any parts of the brush to set up an electrolytic action by which the brush or attendant parts of the brushing machine in which the brush is mounted might be attacked.

Although a limited number of embodiments of the invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing specification, it is to be especially understood that various changes, such as in the relative dimensions of the parts, materials used, and the like, as well as the suggested manner of use of the apparatus of the invention, may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as will now be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A brush comprising an elongated core, a unitary binding strip wound helically on the core, said binding strip before its application to the core having longitudinally extending first and second integrally connected flanges disposed at a substantial angle with respect to each other, the rst ange of the binding strip being disposed generally radially of the core land the second liange of the binding strip being disposed generally parallel :to the surface of the core, the second flange of the binding strip having a plurality of longitudinally spaced notches therein, said notches extending from the outer, free edge of the second flange inwardly toward the junction of the first and second flanges, a plurality of generally radially extending bristle tufts on the core, said tufts extending outwardly from the core through the respective notches in the binding strip, and means securing the binding strip and roots of the bristle tufts to the core.

2. A brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the notches have a depth such that they extend through a predominant part of the width of the second'iiange.

3. A brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means securing the binding strip and roots of the bristle tufts to the brush core is an adhesive.

4. A brush as claimed in claim 3, wherein the adhesive substantially l'ills the space around the roots of the bristle tufts and defined by the second flanges of successive turns of the ginding strip and the core.

5. A brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least the outer surfaces of the flanges of the binding strip are made of plastic material.

6. A brush as claimed in claim 5, wherein the bristles are made of plastic material, and wherein the means securing the binding strip and roots of the bristle tufts to the core is a cured adhesive which forms a `continuous helix about the core and is intimately bonded to the roots 'of the bristles and the anges of the binding strip.

7. A brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rst and second flanges of the binding strip are made of plastic material, and comprising a longitudinally extending reinforcing wire imbedded in the binding strip at Ithe junction of the anges thereof.

8. A brush as claimed in claim 7, wherein the binding strip is integrally made of plastic material.

9. A brush comprising an elongated cylindrical core, a unitary binding strip wound helically on the core, said binding strip being L-shaped in transverse section and before its applications to the core having longitudinally extending first and second integrally connected flanges, the first flange of the binding strip being disposed radially of the core and the second flange of the binding strip being disposed generally parallel to the surface of the core, the second flange of the binding strip having a plurality of longitudinally spaced notches therein, said notches extending from the outer, free edge of the second ange inwardly toward the junction of the first and second flanges, a plurality of generally radially extending bristle tufts on the core, said tufts extending outwardly from the core through the respective notches in the binding strip, and means securing the binding strip and roots of the bristle tufts to the core.

10. A brush as claimed in claim 9, wherein the notches have a depth such that they extend through a predominant part of the width of the second flange.

11. A brush as claimed in claim 10, wherein the means securing the binding strip and roots of the bristle tufts to the core is an adhesive, the adhesive substantially iilling the space around the roots of the bristle tufts and defined by the second anges of successive turns of the binding strip and the core.

12. A brush as claimed in claim 11, wherein the binding strip is made of plastic material and is integrally bonded to the adhesive.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,009,335 11/1911 Olson 15--181 2,797,966 7/1957 Enchelmaier et al. lS-182 X CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

PETER FELDMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BUSH COMPRISING AN ELONGATED CORE, A UNITARY BINDING STRIP WOUND HELICALLY ON THE CORE, SAID BINDING STRIP BEFORE ITS APPLICATION TO THE CORE HAVING LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING FIRST AND SECOND INTEGRALLY CONNECTED FLANGES DISPOSED AT A SUBSTANTIAL ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER, THE FIRST FLANGE TO THE BINDING STRIP BEING DISPOSED GENERALLY RADIALLY OF THE CORE AND THE SECOND FLANGE OF THE BINDING STRIP BEING DISPOSED GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE SURFACE OF THE CORE, THE SECOND FLANGE OF THE BINDING STRIP HAVING A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLY SPACED NOTCHES THEREIN, SAID NOTCHES EXTENDING FROM THE OUTER, FREE EDGE OF THE SECOND FLANGE INWARDLY TOWARD THE JUNCTION OF THE FIRST AND SECOND FLANGES, A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY RADIALLY EXTENDING BRISTLE TUFTS ON THE CORE, SAID TUFTS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE CORE THROUGH THE RESPECTIVE NOTCHES IN THE BINDING STRIP, AND MEANS SECURING THE BINDING STRIP AND ROOTS OF THE BRISTLE TUFTS TO THE CORE. 